As the new hosts of the annual Health Datapalooza, AcademyHealth will welcome the ‘geekerati’ and ‘glitterati’ of the health data liberation movement to D.C. from May 8-11. Although this is the event’s 7th year, it’s our first as host and I couldn’t be more excited!

Health Datapalooza is more than a conference, it’s a homecoming of sorts for the people and organizations who led the charge to open up health data for innovation in the open market and public good; almost immediately it became a must-attend learning event and networking opportunity for those navigating the real world implications of using data to improve health and health care. But if you’re reading this, you probably know that already. What you’re wondering, is “why AcademyHealth?” and, more importantly, “what’s happening this year?”

Let’s start with the first, to provide some context for the second.

AcademyHealth is a national nonprofit, membership organization working with the producers and users of evidence to improve health and the performance of the health system. In addition to our flagship focus on research, we’re the home of the EDM Forum, the Concordium Conference, and many other programs focused on leveraging data and analytics for health system improvements. AcademyHealth has long been a champion for data liberation and a catalyst for its use in decision making and quality improvement.

Transitioning from participants to hosts of the Health Datapalooza, we’ve built on our experience and the expertise of so many contributors and luminaries to shape an agenda that engages all data liberation champions — patients, advocates, technology entrepreneurs, researchers, delivery system reformers, and policy makers — in focused discussions about how we turn data into useful intelligence and evidence. In short, hosting the Health Datapalooza reflects our commitment to ensuring that data and evidence continue to be at the heart of health care and health policy decision-making – and that the researchers, consumers, providers, and other leaders who rely on this evidence base know how to evaluate and use it.

What’s Happening This Year
We’ll continue to celebrate progress on the data access front. However, the focus of the conference has naturally progressed to include a stronger emphasis on working through practical challenges; in short, we have shifted from merely imagining the future to the hard work of creating the future of improved health and care that we envision and sorely need –a future where consumers and patients are essential and active participants at every step of the way.

A Focus on Value Creation
The 2016 themes and tracks were developed with a focus on creating value through data. Track leaders have worked hard to construct an agenda that speaks to a clear set of value propositions.

What tools do consumers actually want and need in order to effectively use data? How can we speed the pace of research and innovation using patient-provided data, and do so in a way that mitigates privacy concerns?

How are data being used internationally to drive value? What can we learn from others countries about creating businesses, supporting research, and expanding technology development opportunities?

In our evolving health data economy of payment and delivery system reforms and technological advancements, how will life sciences adjust to opportunities and challenges of growing data stores, and disparate data sources?

As changing populations and dynamic payment models make it more difficult to predict and achieve individual outcomes, how can health care payers use publicly available data to effectively manage and assess risks and align providers and incentivize care delivery while remaining financially viable?

Data ingestion, translation and visualization are top priorities for many organizations, yet effective data integration in care delivery is fraught with challenges. How can health care providers and entrepreneurs work together to improve business models for success?

Patients Included
For the first time, Health Datapalooza is a Patients Included accredited event. This means that Health Datapalooza is committed to incorporating the experiences of patients as experts while ensuring they are neither excluded nor exploited. We are following these five Patients Included charter clauses in planning and executing the 2016 Health Datapalooza (see this website for more detail):

Patients or caregivers with experience relevant to the conference have actively participated in the design and planning of the event.

Patients or caregivers will participate in the event’s delivery, and appear in its physical audience.

Travel and accommodation expenses for patients or caregivers participating in the advertised program were paid in full, in advance.

The disability requirements of participants are accommodated.

Access for virtual participants is available.

Continuing Education
To continue to engage and add value for the broad community of health care leaders within the community of health data champions, Health Datapalooza will offer continuing education credits, including:

Pending: Health Datapalooza is currently pending approval to offer ACHE.

Prizes, challenges, awards and breaking news
The Health Datapalooza has always been the place for new data releases, development challenges and recognition of the best of the best in the drive to turn data into meaningful tools – and this year is no different. Come for sessions that challenge your assumptions and offer insights that drive value, and stick around for the big news. As Susannah Fox said in her video message, “Big things are guaranteed to happen.”

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